Who Says It Can’t Be Done?

There you are, filled with excitement because you’ve had a brainwave that will get your team out of the mess it’s in. You share it with your team, only to have your idea dismissed with the old “it can’t be done” statements.

Why do they do that?

Well, your idea could be flawed, but that’s not likely. Perhaps they don’t take you seriously. Perhaps they lack your vision and imagination.

Perhaps they are just plain scared of change.

Here are a few tips on how to present your idea so that it has more chance of surviving the “it can’t be done” sentence.

Don’t be too passionate when you present your idea. You can come across like a mad professor and one look at your excited face will be enough to stop them listening past the first few words.

Present the facts. You can probably anticipate the questions or criticisms your team might have. Have you done your research? Include supporting data where you can.

Plan what you are going to say so that it explains what your solution is, how it works and what the benefits are.

But what happens if they still refuse to listen?

You can give up or you can keep working away at your idea. Do you think Andy Murray will listen to those who tell him not to have a female coach if he really believes the best coach for his playing needs is a woman? No way. He will do what he needs to do to get the results he wants.